James Spader Joins The Office, Revives Our Crush From 1986

Sure, James Spader‘s career has spanned decades. He most recently won three Emmys for his work on Boston Legal in 2004, 2005 and 2007. But truly, there is no better version of James Spader than from 1986, when he played the world’s sexiest a–hole, Steff, in Pretty In Pink. Second runner up: Spader as a sexy dom in Secretary. Now there’s a new Spader for us to love, as the new CEO of Dunder Mifflen (and Sabre) on The Office, replacing Kathy Bates.

“James will reprise his role as Robert California, this uber-salesman that has a power to convince and manipulate, like a high-class weirdo Jedi warrior,” said Paul Lieberstein, who plays HR dud Toby and is also a producer on the show. “He’ll have been hired over the summer as the new manager, but within hours, got himself promoted. Within days, he took over the company. James has an energy that is completely his own, and The Office has no tools for dealing with this guy. We’re thrilled he’s joining our cast.”

We’re thrilled too, as he was great on the finale and can totally hold his own among the show’s veteran cast. The more Spader we have in our life, the better. Now please tell us who’s replacing Steve Carrell, will ya NBC?